The unlocked phone comes on the heels of the debut of the HTC One Developers Edition earlier this month. That model costs $649 but comes with 64GB of storage and includes an unlocked bootloader for people who want to root and modify the phone with custom ROMs.

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The HTC One was late to the party due to a limited supply of the phone's camera. Last month, HTC Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Ho told The Wall Street Journal that the phone's camera was specifically designed for the company and "production cannot be ramped up so quickly."

HTC's first-quarter earnings were hurt by the phone's delayed debut. By offering both locked and unlocked versions of the new smartphone, HTC is now clearly trying to hit as much of the market as possible.

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The Bottom Line: HTC's latest flagship smart phone brings new software, neat camera tricks and a Full HD display. The super-charged processor and metal construction are more reasons to be excited, but the lack of any standout feature means we'd hold off buying it until we've reviewed the rest of the year's high-end Android phones.Read full review

About the author

Journalist, software trainer, and Web developer Lance Whitney writes columns and reviews for CNET, Computer Shopper, Microsoft TechNet, and other technology sites. His first book, "Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time," was published by Wiley & Sons in November 2012.
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